Raiding behavior of the Japanese slave-making antPolyergus samurai

Coevolution in host–parasite systems: behavioural strategies of slave–making ants and their hosts

“…By contrast, slave-makers, known only in ants, are social exoparasites, living in their own nest but periodically conducting`slave raids' on nearby host colonies, stealing their larvae and pupae. These raids decimate reproduction and growth in multiple host colonies in a single year (Cool-Kwait & Topo¡ 1984;Mori et al 1991;Hasegawa & Yamaguchi 1994;Foitzik & Herbers 2001a) and can also lead to the genetic death of the host colonies if the host queen(s) or too many workers are killed (Alloway 1979(Alloway , 1990Foitzik & Herbers 2001a). Because selection on hosts can be so strong, we expect to see evidence of hosts evolving resistance to slave-makers.…”

The mandibular glands as a source of sexual pheromones in virgin queens ofPolyergus rufescens(Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

“…In P. lucidus, the queens perform nuptial flights, and, after mating, search for a conspecific colony, not necessarily their natal one, where they then follow a slave-raid (Talbot, 1968;Marlin, 1971;Kwait & Topoff, 1984). Dealate P. samurai females have also been observed to join raiders after mating flights (Hasegawa & Yamaguchi, 1994).…”

Raid process, activity pattern and influence of abiotic conditions in the slave-making ant Rossomyrmex minuchae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

“…The duration of the annual period of activity in R. minuchae is slightly shorter than that of P. samurai (Hasegawa and Yamaguchi, 1994) and P. lucidus (Talbot, 1967). The abiotic conditions, especially of the soil, have a strong relationship with the annual activity of R. minuchae, as in Polyergus (Mori et al, 1991;Hasegawa and Yamaguchi, 1994); thus the number of active R. minuchae nests doubled when average soil temperatures were high and the average relative moisture was low.…”

“…The abiotic conditions, especially of the soil, have a strong relationship with the annual activity of R. minuchae, as in Polyergus (Mori et al, 1991;Hasegawa and Yamaguchi, 1994); thus the number of active R. minuchae nests doubled when average soil temperatures were high and the average relative moisture was low. On the other hand, the seasonal activity of R. minuchae cannot be considered to be related to brood availability in host nests (Buschinger et al 1980), as reported for P. samurai (Hasegawa and Yamaguchi, 1994) and P. lucidus (Talbot, 1967), given that P. longiseta queens are capable of laying eggs immediately after coming out of hibernation (May), as an adaptation to the brief vegetative period (Fernández-Escudero et al, 1997), and the presence of larvae or pupae persists from the beginning of June until the end of July.…”

“…Within the latter subfamily, three genera present dulosis: Formica (subgenus Raptiformica or sanguinea group, depending on the author), Polyergus and Rossomyrmex. Among these slavemakers, different degrees of specialization can be discerned; thus, among the species of the genus Formica, belonging to the group sanguinea, the taking of booty is facultative (Wilson, 1971;Hölldobler and Wilson, 1990), while in Polyergus and Rossomyrmex proformicarum, the slaves are indispensable to the maintenance of the colony (Marikovsky, 1974;Topoff et al, 1985b;Hölldobler and Wilson, 1990;Le Moli et al, 1994;Hasegawa and Yamaguchi, 1994). Most studies on parasitic Formicini present ecological and behavioural data on Polyergus species: P. rufescens in Europe (Czechowski, 1975;Mori et al, 1991;Le Moli et al, 1994), P. lucidus (Talbot, 1967;Kwait and Topoff, 1984) and P. breviceps (Topoff et al, 1985a and b) in North America and P. samurai Yamaguchi, 1994, 1995) in Japan.…”